


Don’t Let Me Go (One Year And Eight Months Is Too Long)

by aegicheezu



Category: K-pop, SHINee
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Jinki has enlisted, Jonghyun Is The Moon, M/M, Military Service, OnTae, Pining, Post-TSoL Era, RPF, jongminkey, minkey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 12:33:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17898521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aegicheezu/pseuds/aegicheezu
Summary: March, 2019. Kibum’s enlistment is fast approaching, and Minho’s will follow soon after. Ten years is a long time to be in love, but will one last night together before the pair are apart be enough to sustain them while they’re separated?





	Don’t Let Me Go (One Year And Eight Months Is Too Long)

The moon had begun its steady climb in the dusky sky – the evening was pretty, and Minho and Kibum decided to spend a few minutes talking to their brother. They poured some wine for the three of them and brought it out onto the balcony, where they sat at the little glass table and fixed their eyes onto the moon. Sitting in silence for a while, it was Minho who eventually spoke first; voice soft, almost reverent.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he tilted his face upwards a little, looking at the moon – a sharp, glowing crescent cutting through the purple and grey evening sky. “Kibummie and I are enlisting soon,” he explained, running a hand through his hair. “Kibummie’s leaving tomorrow morning. I’m off in a few weeks,” he looked at Kibum and reached for the other man’s hand; Kibum took it, and squeezed. “Have a drink with us before we have to send him off, alright?” He raised the glass to the sky, and the moon’s glow seemed to illuminate the sparkle of the white wine it held. Minho set it down on the table, and both he and Kibum bent their heads in a little prayer.

“Cheers, Minho-ya,” Kibum clinked his own glass against Minho’s once their prayers had concluded. Kibum looked up at the purple sky and raised his glass. “Cheers, baby.” They drank together, the third glass perched on the table between them.

The March night air was cool, and the stillness of the night seemed heavier than usual; but, that was to be expected, so neither man called attention to it. Kibum spoke again, soft voice matching the soft evening.

“Don’t miss me too much while I’m gone, will you,” he smiled his crooked smile at Minho, who shoved him playfully. “Besides, you’ll be gone right after me. You’ll have lots of things to keep you busy.”

Minho hummed in agreement. “That’s true, ‘Bummie,” he said, taking another sip. “But, it doesn’t mean I won’t think about you every night.” He looked over at the other man and smiled, eyes sparkling with love. “Of course I’ll miss you.” He leaned in and winked. “Just like you’ll miss me, but refuse to admit it.”

Kibum laughed and wagged his finger. “I will not,” he teased, but pouted his lips for a kiss; Minho obeyed, and kissed Kibum softly. The pair looked at each other then, and pressed their foreheads together, listening to the street sounds from far below and the syncing of their breath. After a moment, Kibum admitted, affecting a teasing, childish voice, “maybe I’ll miss you a little bit.”

“I know.” Minho replied, kissing the other boy’s forehead. “I know you will.”

 

*

 

“Minho-hyung?” Taemin’s voice called from the entryway. “Kibummie-hyung? Where are you two?” Taemin’s eyes wandered through the seemingly empty dorm as he slipped his shoes off, nearly falling over as he did so. Once he finally steadied himself, he heard movement coming from one of the bedrooms – and it made him smirk.

“Taeminnie’s here,” Kibum sing-songed as he made his way to the hallway to greet his maknae. Taemin tried his best to hide his amusement to see how flushed pink the older man was, with Minho following close behind looking equally flustered and out of breath. 

“Did I interrupt something?” Taemin wiggled his eyebrows as he hugged his brothers hello, kissing their cheeks in greeting. “Maybe I should have called beforehand…” he winked at Minho, who blushed. 

Minho playfully whacked Taemin’s shoulder, but didn’t deny anything. “Cut us some slack, will you? The love of my life is shipping out tomorrow, and I won’t get to do that with him for almost two years.”

 

Laughter.

 

*

 

The moon had, by now, finished his climb in the sky and rested, as though perched, atop beautiful and sprawling clouds in the black sky. As the boys had always done, the night before a big trip, they sat together on the floor of the dorm living room and drank together, sharing stories. Key lay on his side, propped up by Minho’s legs, drawn up to his chest. Taemin sat close by, but across from the pair, cross-legged with a bag of potato chips in his lap.

“I don’t know what I’ll do without you guys,” Taemin admitted after a while, between the jokes and laughter. “I’ll miss you.” He smiled down at his glass of soju in his hands, and drank it. He looked at Kibum. “Are you ready, Kibummie-hyung?” 

Kibum thought a moment before answering. “I’m as ready as I’m going to be, I suppose,” he said, non-committaly. “Though…” he looked up at Minho, who had been playing with the soft wisps of his short hair. “I can’t say I’m hugely looking forward to it. I’ll miss you both.” He winked up at the other man, who blew a kiss down towards him.

“Ahh, I miss Jinki-hyung,” Taemin sighed, drinking again. “It’s been so lonely for me without him…” he looked towards the leader’s closed bedroom door. “I hate sleeping alone.”

Minho smiled knowingly at his maknae, and replied, “well tonight, you’re not sleeping alone,” he reminded him. “It’s tradition.”

“That’s true, isn’t it?” Taemin smiled at that. “Since we were kids.” It was true; ever since they were just trainees together, the five boys would always be comforted after a long day’s practice by sharing their beds. Wrapped in each other’s arms, eventually they fell in love; from the start, Jinki and Taemin seemed to have been made for each other – so too were Jonghyun, Minho, and Kibum; wild horses couldn’t drag them apart. And when their brother travelled to heaven, the love between Minho and Kibum only grew stronger; there was no other way to live on. To them, Jonghyun was still a part of them; he just lived somewhere else, now – somewhere they could not visit, not yet.

Kibum looked at the time. “Come on,” he sat up and pulled Taemin up with him, and extended his hand for Minho to follow. “Let’s go to bed.” As he pulled Minho up, he surprised him with a kiss that nearly made him fall back down; Taemin laughed.

 

Hand in hand, the three men made their way to Minho’s bedroom.

 

*

 

Taemin, unable to fall back to sleep between dreams, slipped out of Minho’s bed and left the other two men gently snoring in each other’s arms. He walked on his toes to the large glass doors that led to the balcony. Too cold to go outside, he contented himself with pressing his forehead to the glass. 

“Hey, Jonghyunnie-hyung,” he smiled up at the moon, nestled in the sky surrounded by stars. “I have a favour to ask you,” he whispered, hoping his absence would not be felt by his brothers. “You know… Kibummie-hyung is enlisting tomorrow, don’t you?” He paused, but knew an answer would not come. “Please, keep him safe. I know you’ve already got your hands full keeping Jinki-hyung out of trouble,” he smiled a little. “He’s always falling over things or burning himself on the stove, but you’ve been watching out for him, so he’s been okay,” he smiled. “He’s a commander, now.” he nodded to himself. “But please, if you can… keep an eye on Kibummie-hyung, and Minho-hyung when he leaves, too.”

Suddenly, his eyes filled with tears; Taemin tried to blink them away, but they fell despite his efforts. “Everyone is leaving me,” he murmured. “It’s not fair.” His breath hitched, and he knew he was moments away from properly crying. “I’m so lonely, Jonghyunnie-hyung,” he admitted at last. “I know everyone expects us to be brave and carry on, and we’re trying, but… I miss you every day. And then, Jinki-hyung left, and now Minho-hyung and Kibummie-hyung are leaving me… what am I supposed to do without all of you?” He slumped against the cold glass, shoulders shaking. “You all practically raised me… what am I supposed to do without you by my side?” he wiped his eyes gracelessly with the back of his hand, tears staining the glass where he pressed his cheek against the door.

“Taeminnie, everything’s going to be alright,” Kibum’s soft voice startled the young man, and he snapped to attention, nearly slipping on the lacquered floor. Kibum wrapped his arms tightly around his maknae, curling his fingers through his soft hair. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

Taemin’s cheeks felt hot with the pressure of a thousand things he wanted to say, but couldn’t. “I can’t help this feeling,” he admitted, clinging to Kibum’s shirt. “I can’t help feeling like I’m being left alone… I can’t take it…” Taemin buried his head in the older man’s neck and sobbed. “Why is everyone I love leaving me…?”

Key’s heart broke in two. “Shh, baby…” he cooed in Taemin’s ear. “Look at me,” he took Taemin’s face in his hands and kissed him softly. “I’m right here. I’m right here…” his own eyes filled with tears to see how broken his maknae was. “I’ll call and write as often as I’m allowed. Minho will, too. The time will pass faster than you know.”

“Promise?” Taemin echoed, sniffling, as he looked into Kibum’s eyes. He threw his arms around the older boy’s neck in an embrace, nearly knocking Kibum over.

Kibum hugged him tightly. “Of course I promise,” he cooed. “I promise on the moon.” 

At that, Taemin calmed down. He sighed into Kibum’s neck, trying to steady his breathing. Standing in the stillness of the night, they were startled by the familiar creaking of Minho’s bedroom door. Rubbing his eyes, he shuffled into the living room and joined the others, reaching for them both.

“I woke up, and I was alone,” he murmured sleepily, a little whine in his voice. “Come back to bed.” But then, he noticed Taemin’s teary eyes and immediately felt more awake. “What happened, Taeminnie? Are you alright?” Minho wiped his maknae’s eyes carefully, and held his cheek.

“Taeminnie’s upset about our enlistment,” Kibum explained gently. “He got up to talk to Jjongie about it, and I followed him out when I noticed he’d woken up.”

Minho’s eyes softened, understanding what had happened. He drew Taemin in close, and smiled at how tightly their youngest clung to him. “Come back to bed, Taeminnie,” he said softly. “Spend some time with us.”

Taemin nodded wordlessly, and allowed himself to be taken back to Minho’s bed by the hand.

 

*

 

The next morning was bright and sunny, clear and crisp – the men gathered their things in a comfortable silence, almost unwilling to say anything that might break the spell of their final moments together before Kibum was set to leave for the army. Piling into Taemin’s car, Minho and Key sat together in the back, fingers laced together. Minho leaned against the other man, smiling a little each time Kibum kissed the top of his head. Taemin looked on lovingly in the mirror, and snuck a photo of the oblivious pair when he was stopped at a red light. _We’ll be alright,_ he thought to himself. _Jinki will be home soon, and then it will be my turn…_ he ran a hand through his hair. _No matter what, we’ll always return to each other. I know that._

 

*

 

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Taemin smiled as he got out of the car, leaving Minho and Kibum in the backseat. Adjusting his ball cap and mask, he leaned against the car and closed his eyes, enjoying the March sun on his face.

Grateful for the blackened windows of the car, Kibum threw his arms around Minho and buried his face in his neck. “Minho-ya,” he murmured. “I’m going to miss you so much,” he kissed the other man’s neck and cheek furiously, as if trying to break a record for how many kisses he could give in a minute. Minho laughed at Kibum’s sudden change, and wrapped his arms around him.

“I’ll miss you too, ‘Bummie,” he grinned, kissing Kibum’s cheek. “You better write and call me every day after your training is finished,” he cautioned playfully. “And make sure you do the same for our baby, or he’ll never forgive you,” he pointed with his chin to the outside, where Taemin rested against the car. Minho’s eyes turned serious. “He puts on such a brave face, but… he’ll always be ours to take care of.” 

“I know,” Kibum smiled, pressing his forehead against Minho’s. “I promise I’ll call and write as often as I’m allowed.” He looked him in the eye then, and smiled. “And _you_ ,” he emphasized his words, “you better write me back, even when you’re too tired from training to lift those pretty fingers of yours.”

Minho smiled, and kissed Kibum softly, slowly. “I promise,” he agreed. “I’ll write and call you so often, you’ll be sick of me.”

“Impossible,” Kibum replied, kissing him back.

“I love you, ‘Bummie,” Minho smiled. “I love you more than anything in this world.”

Kibum held the other man’s chin. “I love you more.”

“Come back to me safely,” Minho kissed him again. “Come back to me.”

Kibum hugged him tightly. “I promise. You come home to me, too. Don’t make me wait too long.”

The pair laughed, tearfully wishing they could prolong their goodbye. Taemin gently rapped against the window, signaling that camera crew were there to see Kibum off. “Time to go, baby,” Minho said sweetly. “Kiss me once more before we get out of the car.”

Kibum obeyed; holding Minho’s face in his hands, he kissed him with enough love to last them both.


End file.
